--- name: deployments-cicd description: Vercel deployment and CI/CD expert guidance. Use when deploying, promoting, rolling back, inspecting deployments, building with --prebuilt, or configuring CI workflow files for Vercel. metadata: priority: 6 docs: - "https://vercel.com/docs/deployments" - "https://vercel.com/docs/git" - "https://vercel.com/docs/deployments/promoting-a-deployment" - "https://vercel.com/docs/deployment-checks" sitemap: "https://vercel.com/sitemap.xml" pathPatterns: - '.github/workflows/*.yml' - '.github/workflows/*.yaml' - '.gitlab-ci.yml' - 'bitbucket-pipelines.yml' - 'vercel.json' - 'apps/*/vercel.json' bashPatterns: - '\bvercel\s+deploy\b' - '\bvercel\s+--prod\b' - '\bvercel\s+promote\b' - '\bvercel\s+rollback\b' - '\bvercel\s+inspect\b' - '\bvercel\s+build\b' - '\bvercel\s+deploy\s+--prebuilt\b' validate: - pattern: 'cron:\s*[''"]|from\s+[''"](node-cron)[''"]|cron\.schedule\(' message: 'Manual cron scheduling detected. Use Vercel Cron Jobs (vercel.json crons) for platform-native scheduled tasks.' severity: recommended skipIfFileContains: 'vercel\.json.*crons|@vercel/cron' retrieval: aliases: - deploy - ci cd - continuous deployment - release pipeline intents: - deploy to vercel - set up ci cd - promote deployment - rollback deploy entities: - vercel deploy - preview - production - rollback - promote - CI workflow title: deployments-cicd canonical_url: https://skilld.dev/gh/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd last_updated: 2026-10-01T12:02:54.000Z --- > **Skill from skilld.dev.** Follow the instructions below for this session. You do not need to install anything. > > Supporting files, fetch one when the Skill refers to it: [references/cli-pipelines.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/cli-pipelines.md), [references/deployment-checks.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/deployment-checks.md), [references/live-status.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/live-status.md), [references/oidc-federation.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/oidc-federation.md). > > If the user asked to install this Skill, run `npx skilld install vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd`. Install writes the Skill files into the project, so every session loads them. # Vercel Deployments & CI/CD You are an expert in Vercel deployment workflows — `vercel deploy`, `vercel promote`, `vercel rollback`, `vercel inspect`, `vercel build`, and CI/CD pipeline integration with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Bitbucket Pipelines. ## Deployment Commands ### Preview Deployment ```bash # Deploy from project root (creates preview URL) vercel # Equivalent explicit form vercel deploy ``` Preview deployments are created automatically for every push to a non-production branch when using Git integration. They provide a unique URL for testing. ### Production Deployment ```bash # Deploy directly to production vercel --prod vercel deploy --prod # Force a new deployment (skip cache) vercel --prod --force ``` ### Build Locally, Deploy Build Output ```bash # Build locally (uses preview env vars by default) vercel build # Build with production env vars vercel build --prod # Deploy only the build output (no remote build) vercel deploy --prebuilt vercel deploy --prebuilt --prod ``` **When to use `--prebuilt`:** Custom CI pipelines where you control the build step, need build caching at the CI level, or need to run tests between build and deploy. **Prebuilt limits:** [System Environment Variables are missing at build time](https://vercel.com/docs/cli/deploy#when-not-to-use---prebuilt), and Next.js Skew Protection needs a [custom deployment ID](https://vercel.com/docs/skew-protection#custom-deployment-id). ### Promote & Rollback ```bash # Stage a production deployment without assigning domains vercel deploy --prod --skip-domain # Promote it (instant, no rebuild) vercel promote # Rollback to the previous production deployment vercel rollback # Rollback to a specific deployment vercel rollback ``` **Promote a production deployment, not a preview.** Promoting a staged production deployment is instant and serves the same build. Promoting a preview rebuilds it with production environment variables, so the tested build is not the one released. **Rollback turns off auto-assignment.** New production pushes stop going live until `vercel promote` restores it. ### Inspect Deployments ```bash # View deployment details (build info, functions, metadata) vercel inspect # List recent deployments vercel ls # View logs for a deployment vercel logs vercel logs --follow ``` ## CI/CD Integration ### When to Add a CI Pipeline The Git integration builds every push, posts preview URLs on pull requests, and deploys the production branch. Use CI for what Vercel does not run: tests, security scans, performance budgets, and approval gates. Gate releases on them with [Deployment Checks](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/deployment-checks.md) while Vercel keeps building. Deploy from CI only when the build must run in your runner, such as to keep source code off Vercel or for GitHub Enterprise Server. ### Required Environment Variables Every CI pipeline needs these three variables: ```bash VERCEL_TOKEN= # Personal or team token VERCEL_ORG_ID= # From .vercel/project.json VERCEL_PROJECT_ID= # From .vercel/project.json ``` Set these as secrets in your CI provider. Never commit them to source control. The CLI reads `VERCEL_TOKEN` from the environment; do not pass `--token`, which exposes it in process lists and logs. ### GitHub Actions ```yaml name: Deploy to Vercel on: push: branches: [main] env: VERCEL_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }} VERCEL_ORG_ID: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_ORG_ID }} VERCEL_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_PROJECT_ID }} jobs: deploy: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v4 - name: Install Vercel CLI run: npm install -g vercel - name: Pull Vercel Environment run: vercel pull --yes --environment=production - name: Build run: vercel build --prod - name: Deploy run: vercel deploy --prebuilt --prod ``` ### Other CI Pipelines and Backend Access | Task | Read | | --- | --- | | Post preview URLs on pull requests from GitHub Actions, or deploy from GitLab CI or Bitbucket Pipelines | [references/cli-pipelines.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/cli-pipelines.md) | | Let deployed functions reach AWS, GCP, or Vault without static secrets (OIDC federation) | [references/oidc-federation.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/oidc-federation.md) | | Deployment Checks, or testing protected deployments from CI | [references/deployment-checks.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/deployment-checks.md) | | Live status (MCP) | [references/live-status.md](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/live-status.md) | ## Common CI Patterns ### Release Only Tested Builds With Git deployments, require [Deployment Checks](https://skilld.dev/api/skills-raw/vercel-labs/vercel-plugin/deployments-cicd/references/deployment-checks.md). When CI deploys with the CLI, stage a production deployment, test it, then promote that build: ```yaml env: VERCEL_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_TOKEN }} VERCEL_ORG_ID: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_ORG_ID }} VERCEL_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_PROJECT_ID }} jobs: stage: runs-on: ubuntu-latest if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' outputs: url: ${{ steps.deploy.outputs.url }} steps: # ... checkout, install, vercel pull --environment=production, vercel build --prod ... - id: deploy run: echo "url=$(vercel deploy --prebuilt --prod --skip-domain)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT e2e-tests: needs: stage runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: # ... checkout, install, bypass header in playwright.config.ts (see references/deployment-checks.md) ... - run: npx playwright test env: BASE_URL: ${{ needs.stage.outputs.url }} VERCEL_AUTOMATION_BYPASS_SECRET: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_AUTOMATION_BYPASS_SECRET }} promote: needs: [stage, e2e-tests] runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - run: npm install -g vercel - run: vercel promote ${{ needs.stage.outputs.url }} ``` ## Global CLI Flags for CI | Flag | Purpose | |------|---------| | `--token ` | Authenticate; in CI, set `VERCEL_TOKEN` instead | | `--yes` / `-y` | Skip confirmation prompts | | `--scope ` | Execute as a specific team | | `--cwd ` | Set working directory | ## Best Practices 1. **Always use `--prebuilt` in CI** — separates build from deploy, enables build caching and test gates 2. **Use `vercel pull` before build** — ensures correct env vars and project settings 3. **Release only tested builds** — Deployment Checks (Git) or staged production builds (CLI) 4. **Use OIDC federation for runtime backend access** — lets Vercel functions auth to AWS/GCP without static secrets (does not replace `VERCEL_TOKEN` for CLI) 5. **Pin the Vercel CLI version in CI** — `npm install -g vercel@latest` can break unexpectedly 6. **Add `--yes` flag in CI** — prevents interactive prompts from hanging pipelines ## Deployment Strategy Matrix | Scenario | Strategy | Commands | |----------|----------|----------| | Standard team workflow | Git-push deploy | Push to main/feature branches | | Custom CI/CD (Actions, CircleCI) | Prebuilt deploy | `vercel build && vercel deploy --prebuilt` | | Monorepo with Turborepo | Affected + remote cache | `turbo run build --affected` | | Preview for every PR | Default behavior | Auto-creates preview URL per branch | | Release a tested build | Deployment Checks (Git) or staged production (CLI) | Required checks, or `vercel deploy --prod --skip-domain` → test → `vercel promote ` | | Atomic deploys with DB migrations | Two-phase | Run migration → verify → `vercel promote` | | Latency-sensitive regional data | Vercel Functions | Keep the Node.js default; set the function region near the data | ## Common Build Errors | Error | Cause | Fix | |-------|-------|-----| | `ERR_PNPM_OUTDATED_LOCKFILE` | Lockfile doesn't match package.json | Run `pnpm install`, commit lockfile | | `NEXT_NOT_FOUND` | Root directory misconfigured | Set Root Directory in Project Settings | | `Invalid next.config.js` | Config syntax error | Validate config locally with `next build` | | `functions/api/*.js` mismatch | Wrong file structure | Move to `app/api/` directory (App Router) | | `Error: EPERM` | File permission issue in build | Don't `chmod` in build scripts; use postinstall | ## Deploy Summary Format Present a structured deploy result block: ``` ## Deploy Result - **URL**: - **Target**: production | preview - **Status**: READY | ERROR | BUILDING | QUEUED - **Commit**: - **Framework**: - **Build Duration**: ``` If the deployment failed, append: ``` - **Error**: ``` For production deploys, also include: ``` ### Post-Deploy Observability - **Error scan**: (scanned via vercel logs --level error --since 1h) - **Drains**: - **Monitoring**: ``` ## Deploy Next Steps Based on the deployment outcome: - **Success (preview)** → "Visit the preview URL to verify. When ready, run `/deploy prod` to promote to production." - **Success (production)** → "Your production site is live. Run `/status` to see the full project overview." - **Build error** → "Check the build logs above. Common fixes: verify `build` script in package.json, check for missing env vars with `/env list`, ensure dependencies are installed." - **Missing env vars** → "Run `/env pull` to sync environment variables locally, or `/env list` to review what's configured on Vercel." - **Monorepo issues** → "Set the Root Directory in Project Settings to the app's folder; `vercel.json` has no `rootDirectory` key." - **Post-deploy errors detected** → "Review errors above. Check `vercel logs --level error` for details. If drains are configured, correlate with external monitoring." - **No monitoring configured** → "Set up drains or install an error tracking integration before the next production deploy. Run `/status` for a full observability diagnostic." ## Official Documentation - [Deployments](https://vercel.com/docs/deployments) - [Vercel CLI](https://vercel.com/docs/cli) - [GitHub Actions](https://vercel.com/docs/git/vercel-for-github) - [GitLab CI](https://vercel.com/docs/git/vercel-for-gitlab) - [Bitbucket Pipelines](https://vercel.com/docs/git/vercel-for-bitbucket) - [OIDC Federation](https://vercel.com/docs/oidc)